Starring Grizzy and Sophie

I’m sure Sophie and Grizzy were thinking their mom finally got with the 21st century. Or at least, that’s how I felt. I had planned on getting a Litter Genie and then I made an unplanned trip to the pet supplies store and they were on sale! So I came home with one.

You can see the cats were much more interested in the packaging than the genie itself.

So far it’s been working out nicely. It cuts down on the daily-dumpster trips, which is nice. I’m sure it’ll be even more nice when it’s freezing outside!

Unrelated, thank you for the good vibes yesterday! I am hoping to hear back soon, and then I should be able to give more info.

On a different note, I can say that I’m going to meet with some folks from a local humane society about volunteering! I’m very excited, as I’ve been wanting to find a volunteer opportunity that fit my schedule. I think this could be a good match. 🙂

Once again, I am late to the ball. But rest assured, I’ve been celebrating Black Cat Appreciation Day all day!

I’d heard the superstitions and stories, but I thought that’s all they were. I was shocked when I was looking for cats after my Rosie died when I heard more than one person loudly announce that they’d NEVER consider taking a black cat, how they hated black cats, how no way, no how, no black cats. A neighbor of mine once commented on a feral cat in the neighborhood and said, “Ugh, and it’s BLACK.”

Are. You. Kidding. Me.

Look past the color, and to the personality. For me, I wasn’t looking for a black cat, per se; I was looking for a cat. He just happened to be Grizzy, and Grizzy just happens to be a very handsome black cat. 🙂 And my little Sophie, I went looking for a personality that would be a good match for the G-man. And Sophie just so happened to be a beautiful long-haired black lady cat!

I may be biased, but I think they are both stunning. They are also such sweethearts. They sleep with me, keep me company, and bring me so much joy. I love my little black kitties!

And tomorrow I hope to play catch-up with some posts and assorted information. 🙂 Have a good week everyone!

I survived the MADACC Walk, Run, Wag! This was a fun run/walk for the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission. They take care of the area’s neediest animals. This is where I adopted Grizzy, and Sophie started out at MADACC as well. I’ve been there several times and have been so impressed by the kindness and dedication of its employees and volunteers. I am very happy I was able to participate, and thank you!! to everyone who helped me fundraise. You helped an amazing organization continue to do great work.

On to the run itself! It was a super fun run. There were runners, there were runners with dogs, there were walkers and walkers with dogs. I highly recommend it. It was well organized, there was some great music afterward, there were booths with local vendors and associations, and it was just great fun.

During the run. The “dog racers” started 15 minutes after us, so we got to see a bit of their run.

Dog water park!

I saw this guy at the start of the race and I was lucky enough to see him cross the finish. What a champ!

I wanted to die at first, haha, probably because the day before I was pretty emotional and decided kettle corn would make a good lunch and dinner. Kettle corn, while delicious, it NOT the best food with which to fuel one’s body for a race, as I learned. However, the scenery and just the feel of the run kept me going. And when I really wanted to walk near the end, I fell in stride with a woman named Peg. She helped me across the finish. 🙂

Me and Peg after the finish.

Here are my times:
35:31.87
11:27 min/mile

Needless to say, I didn’t make my sub-30 race; however, I’m pleased with my times! There were a couple hills, which is always tough; I need to start incorporating them into my runs. I am really pleased that I came in 22 in my division (middle-aged women, haha) and 88 overall. I’m sure that lands me squarely in the middle or lower-middle, but it sounds impressive!

I’m not a marathoner by any means. Some years back I was serious about running a half marathon but now…not so much. I honestly think I’d get bored. However, I would like to do a 10K at some point, just to say I did it. I’d also like to get back to a sub-30 5K, so that’s another goal.

Another thing that was really cool is the race leader cheered us on. Now, the race loops around, so we were going up the hill and this due was coming down–after running around the top of the hill for a time–so he was FAST. He was battle ready, totally driven, which always gives me a bit of awe to see people so focused like that during a race. Anyhow, as he ran past us, he yelled some encouragement, which was so cool. Granted, I’m sure he was aiming it towards the two 20-somethings in front of me, but it’s so nice to hear that kind of encouragement. I love that about runners. As Peg joked, “The thing about running is, everyone wants to know races, injuries sustained, times. I just like my 5Ks!” I think the one injury I sustained was pulling my ACL because I didn’t stretch before a run! And my times, eh, not the best. But I love that no matter how slow you are, or how little you run, runners are generally very supportive and good about cheerleading each other. Maybe because they know that sometimes you don’t get that runner’s high and sometimes it’s tough to get out there?

This is definitely a fun run and it supports such an important cause. I will definitely do this again next year!